2 Tricks to Overcome Debilitating Performance Anxiety in Golf originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Performance anxiety exists in all walks of life. From nerves before a round of golf to those jitters you get prior to a big interview or presentation, it's not an uncommon feeling for all of us to experience.
Here's the cold hard truth about performance anxiety, though: It's all in your head.
When it comes anxiety in golf, there's something called the "Spotlight Effect" that often occurs — which is defined as “the psychological phenomenon by which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are.”
So you know that pressure you feel when you're standing over your tee shot and are worried that your playing partners will judge the result? Yeah, it's all an illusion in your mind.
Still, that type of performance anxiety is very real, so now that you know why it happens, you need to know how to stop it from consuming you before golf shots.
With the help of top-ranked golf instructor Kelvin Kelley, you can learn some easy tricks to do just that. So take a look at Kelley's advice in the video below, and follow Rainmakers Golf Club on YouTube for more golf tips and game-improvement hacks.
Refocus Your Golf Goals to Conquer Performance Anxiety
I once had a golf lesson with both Nelly Korda and Patrick Cantlay's coach, and he said something so interesting (and revealing) to me.
After asking him a question about my golf swing, he looked at me, smirked, and replied by saying, "Nick, I've taught some of the best players in the world, but you're probably the most cerebral golfer I've ever been around."
In Layman's terms: You overthink and put too much performance anxiety on yourself.
So when I had my on-course golf lesson with Kelvin Kelley, this was something I mentioned as an issue, with me oftentimes focusing too much on the previous shot rather than my next shot.
While it's obviously a negative trait of mine that I need to break, Kelley did say it's at least a positive that I recognize it as an issue.
"I think the most important part is that you're aware of it," Kelley tells me.
2 Fun Ways to Deal with Performance Anxiety in Golf
OK, phew, at least there's something good to take from my golf anxiety. Now for the solution — which Kelley offered up to try and overcome the bad habit.
"I'd do two things: First, write down a commitment before each round about what you can control — you can actually create a scoring system based on this," he says. "So before your next round of golf, only judge your score on how well you held the commitment.
"In your case, the commitment could be not worrying about the past or not worrying about the future [and how many strokes you have to achieve a certain scoring goal], so just staying present this golf round."
As someone who has a clear goal (breaking 80 for the first time), it's hard to avoid the trap of counting strokes and wondering what my score needs to be on each hole — especially after a couple bogey or double-bogeys inflate the scorecard.
But Kelley reminded me about one of the most cliche terms in golf: "Focus on one shot at a time."
Another way to manage performance anxiety is by keeping my commitment. By refocusing attention on that, it will allow me to gauge my progress differently than only my overall score — and not worry about my score, a bad shot, or any golf swing mechanics.
"[Instead of focusing on what you shoot], base your round off of the commitment you made to that scoring system," Kelley says. "So it doesn't matter if you played well and shot 77 or shot 87, your scoring system is only based on that commitment."
Managing Your Thoughts and Emotions is a Difficult Task
While Kelley offers up some creative ways to refocus your attention during each round, he's the first to admit that managing performance anxiety can be tough — mainly there's so much time to think on a golf course.
"When you think about it, we're out here for hours [playing golf], but what are you doing about 90 percent of the time when you're not [swinging a club]?", he asks me. "You're only over the ball hitting it, or going through your pre- or post-shot routines, so it's hard [not to overthink]."
But by incorporating some of Kelley's mental golf tips, you can discover a fresh way to manage expectations, focus on a new way to track your progress, limit performance anxiety, and (hopefully!) play looser and better.
You can check out my full golf lesson with Kelley for more tips to help your game improve!
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Read the full article here
